(At the risk of duplication, I'm posting this announcement in our local forum so that we can begin to make it our own. Yucc, if it's excessive b-width, feel free to delete.)

"BAMA", the Birmingham Area MINI Association", is planning a Covered Bridge Cruise and Poker Run on Saturday, Dec. 6. This "follow the leader" cruise will leave the parking lot of Brook Highland Shopping Center, in front of Brook Highland Cinema, US 280 in Shelby County, promptly at 10:00am. We will cruise three covered bridges in Blount County, stop for a picnic lunch (bring whatever you like) at a mountain top park with a superb overlook, and then visit The Shrine of The Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville. We will then return to the point of beginning for a group dinner at Wing's around 5:00 that evening.

Cruise participants may wish to participate in a $5.00 per hand Poker Run during the cruise. Participants may purchase as many hands as they like at cruise check-in. The highest scoring hand will win the entire pot when the hands are called at the dinner at Wing's. Playing the Poker Run during the cruise is voluntary.

The cruise, which will be about 160 miles round trip, will cover 90+ of those miles on twisty, two lane back roads. The bridges we will visit are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are something everyone should experience. The Shrine of The Most Blessed Sacrament is one of the most awe inspiring places you will ever visit. Most people do not believe that such a place is in rural Alabama. You will come away awe struck whether or not you are a religious person. Since our group will certainly be 10 or more people, we will qualify as a "pilgrimage" and as such, we can schedule a guided tour of the facilities and a informational talk by one of the Fathers. This will be the highlight of the cruise.

We will be using FRS radios in the leading and trailing MINIs to confirm that we have the caravan together and that no one gets left behind. Feel free to bring your own FRS and join in the "Ratchet Jawin'".

While not absolutely necessary, pre-registration in the cruise is highly encouraged. I'll need to know how many hard copy cruise packets to put together, what size group we will have for the Shrine tour, and what size group we need to make dinner reservations for. Participants can pre-register by posting their intent to participate in the cruise on this message board with the following information:

1) Your eMail address so that I can send you the cruise directions (cue sheets) as well as information about the bridges and the Shrine. (This can be imbedded in your profile). If you don't want the cue sheets in advance, you do not need to post you eMail address.

2) How many of your party will be participating in the cruise

3) How many will be attending the dinner / Poker Run payout at Wing's.

You cannot eMail me directly since my Spam Blocker will not recognize you until I add you to my address book. Your Spam Blocker, if any, will need to be set to receive eMail from the following addresses (sorry, but I have several):

greglee@mindspring.com, Greg.Lee@regions.om, greg@ThumbsUpRacing.com

This cruise will be open to all classic and new MINIs as well as those who have MINIs on order. There is no cost to participate except for the optional $5.00 per hand Poker Run.

This cruise is being put together with the help of new member Chip Schwartz. We are logging lots of break in miles on his new S, "Big Slick", while putting this cruise together and verifying directions and mileages.

Greg Lee
"Thumbs Up"

Hey, it's all about the driving anyway, right?

 

Greg, I think that duplicating this info is a good idea, as we want to attract interested MINI owners from the SE region who might be interested in our events, and bandwidth use is not a concern at all for our small but growing group of MINI enthusiasts.